Bekasi Goes Green

Bahasa (Indonesian)

World Bank - Bekasi, March 3, 2008 – If there is any city in the island of Java that deserves to be recognized for its progressive, green-minded approach to sustainable development, that city would be Bekasi. A city of two million people just east of the capital, Bekasi has become the first city in Java Island to enter into an emission reduction purchase agreement that promises both environmental and social benefits.

The agreement entails the set-up of a gas-flaring facility at Bekasi’s Sumur Batu landfill, which generates up to seven hundred cubic meters of solid waste each year. The flaring technique essentially traps the methane gas resulting from solid waste, and goes a long way in reducing the number of climate pollutants deriving from Bekasi.

Methane is a greenhouse gas that is potentially 21 times more harmful than CO2, the main contributor to global warming. The flaring facility will be built by PT Gikoko Kogyo Indonesia, an engineering company that specializes in clean air technology, and is scheduled to be operational by the end of March.

The World Bank, acting as a trustee of the Netherlands Clean Development Mechanism, will help provide the social benefit component. Under the agreement for Bekasi city, the World Bank will purchase 250,000 tons of CO2-equivalent of Certified Emissions Reductions (CER) each year, for the next 15 years. In the global carbon market, one CER is equal to one ton of CO2 and is priced between US$5 to $10. From the deal signed between the World Bank and PT Gikoko, seventeen percent of the revenues generated would towards developing Bekasi.

“Seven percent of the revenues will support community development in Sumur Batu,” said Bekasi city secretary Tjandra Utama Effendi in a press conference after the signing ceremony. “Another 10 percent of the revenue will be added to the local budget.”

The Bekasi gas flaring project is only the second of its kind in Indonesia. Last year, the World Bank facilitated a similar agreement to a landfill in Pontianak, West Kalimantan. Another such project is currently being prepared in Makassar, South Sulawesi.

Rules on green building needed: Entrepreneur

The Jakarta Post

The Jakarta administration should set up fixed rules on the application of "green building" designs to help reduce energy consumption and save the earth, says a businessman.

Property tycoon Pra Ciputra said Saturday the city should also cooperate with developers and entrepreneurs to carry out the program.

"As entrepreneurs, we can't run the green program ourselves because it's very expensive. For green building designs, costs are 10 times more than for normal building construction." "No entrepreneur wants to suffer a financial loss like that. If I, for example, apply it to all of my constructions, while my competitors do not, it's going to hurt quite a bit.

"It's a mass program. That's why the administration needs to cooperate with entrepreneurs and developers," said Ciputra (center) upon receiving an honorary doctoral degree from the University of Tarumanegara in Grogol, West Jakarta.

Rector Dali Santun (right) presented him with the doctoral certificate Saturday during a university senate plenary meeting. Ciputra's wife, Dian Sumeler (left), was in attendance.

Green building designs, Ciputra said, were urgent for the densely populated capital, which has few green areas.

"Indonesia is far behind other countries like Singapore, Malaysia and South American countries, where it's not hard to find green-roof programs and parks on top of skyscrapers."

Ciputra, 77, is responsible for the development of more than 40 shopping centers, housing complexes and townships. His best-known project is the popular seaside theme park Ancol, which was once a swamp. (trw)

Community-based green areas needed, say NGOs

Evi Mariani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

In response to the administration's plan to evict thousands of residents in 2008 to make way for green areas, organizations have offered a community-based approach in revitalizing green areas.

The organizations said they believed that the concept would benefit the city, the communities and the public.

"The city could save some budget money for revitalization and maintenance, while it would still get the green areas," Nurkholis Hidaya from Jakarta Legal Aid Institute (LBH) told a press conference Wednesday.

Nurkholis said that in the draft of the city budget, the institute noted that during 2008 the city planned to evict 16 communities to get 55,540 square meters of green areas. The fund for the evictions and revitalization is set at Rp 27.3 billion.

The series of evictions is another phase in the administration's plan to increase the city's existing green area, 9.6 percent of its total 9,156 hectares, to 13.9 percent by 2010.

Among the 16 communities to be moved are the fish and flower traders on Jl. Barito, who were evicted on Jan. 18. The next community to be evicted is ceramics and rattan traders in Rawasari, Central Jakarta.

Vendors in Rawasari got their eviction orders on Wednesday.

LBH Jakarta and the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi), which helped Barito fish and flower sellers protest against the move, said communities in Jakarta were smart. They had the capacity to offer solutions to the city's problems, if the city administration allowed them, the groups said.

"We work with at least two architecture firms, which support community-based design. For Barito, the YP+A firm had designed a lively hybrid park," Nurkholis said.

He said it was unfortunate the administration had decided to its own design, despite praising the one proposed by the vendors.

Selamet Daroyni from Walhi said the city's plan to evict thousands was unfair and showed the city did not have the courage to shut down the malls and hotels sitting on formerly green areas and instead preferred to tackle the powerless.

"Jakarta's green areas have dwindled from 37.2 percent in 1965 to 6.2 percent in 2007, largely thanks to the developments of large commercial buildings like malls and hotels," Selamet said in the conference.

"The communities only use a small percentage the green areas, about 10 percent, probably," he added. "Therefore, we think the city's attempt to evict these communities won't touch the source of Jakarta's environmental problems."

Lampung finds community solution to forest conservation

Oyos Saroso H.N., The Jakarta Post, Lampung

Lampung administration has developed a forest conservation area which involves residents.

Since 2000, 6,537 households near Rigil hill and Tangkit Tebak forest in West Lampung municipality have taken part in the "Forest Community" program, regreening the 12-hectare forest which was damaged by illegal logging.

As an incentive, the villagers -- who work in groups -- are allowed to cultivate a part of the damaged forest for a five year term.

Now, not only do they enjoy the harvests from their crops, but also benefit from the restored forest.

"We're glad we have land to work on ... so that we can support ourselves, while protecting the environment," a farmer, Erfan, said.

The team responsible for the program consists of the village chief, officials from the environmental management board and forest conservation supervision unit, environmentalists and farmer organizations.

The team supervises farmers in groups of 50 and manages land use, distribution, planning and licensing, which is required by people wishing to cultivate land in the area. The team also evaluates the performance of farmer groups each year.

"Groups who are successful in operating under the program would be given permission to cultivate the forest land for 25 years, as recently instructed by West Lampung Mayor Erwin Nizar," a team member and environmentalist from Keluarga Pecinta Lingkungan (Environmentalist Family), Rama Zakaria, said.

Farmers are not allowed to build houses or even shacks in the forest near their crops or to sell the land, or they will lose permission to use the land in the coming year.

Rama said community-based forest management was the best way to prevent the forest from being damaged.

"Farmers until now ... witness forest destruction but can do nothing. Now, with the forest management based in the community they can participate to protect it, and even bust the illegal loggers."

Rama said even though the Forest Community pilot project has gone well, there were still many obstacles in repairing damaged forests in other parts of the province, particularly in two national parks and one protected forest.

He said Lampung faces rampant illegal logging activities which have damaged 60 percent of the 125,000-ha Way Kambas national park in East Lampung, 40 percent of the 365,000-ha Bukit Barisan Selatan national park and 40 percent of the 22,000-ha Wan Abdur Rahman protected forest in Bandar Lampung.

According to environment management board data cited by Rama, 1.4 of 3.3 million ha of Lampung is forested, but 65 percent of it is now damaged.

"At first, the administration was reluctant to allow residents to manage and cultivate crops in forest areas, but after they saw how it is managed, (they) cooperated," Rama said.

World Bank data from 2007 shows Indonesia became the world's third biggest carbon dioxide emitter because of uncontrolled forest degradation.

"It is embarrassing to find the world pointing at Indonesia as one of the main contributors to global warming when once we were so proud of our forests," Rama said.

Yogyakarta two degrees warmer, official says

Slamet Susanto, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta

The climate in Yogyakarta city has gradually increased over the past two years due to global warming, a government agency says.

Previously, the temperature in the city ranged between 33 and 34 degrees Celsius, but now swings between 35 and 37.8 degrees.

"The temperature rise in Yogyakarta is a current global phenomenon also happening elsewhere as the result of global warming," said Yogyakarta Meteorological and Geophysics Agency (BMG) Data and Information Division head Tyar Prasetya.

Prasetya added his office had detected a gradual rise in temperatures in the city over the past two years. The city recorded temperatures of between 33 to 34 degrees Celsius previously, but in November 2006 the highest temperature reached 37.8 degrees Celsius and in December of the same year it stood at 35.2 degrees Celsius.

He said the BMG recorded temperatures of 35.2 degrees Celsius in February and 35 degrees in October this year.

Prasetya said every party must pay special attention to reduce global warming so as to alleviate its negative impacts.

A number of Yogyakarta residents say they have noticed the change.

"Yogyakarta's climate is very hot now, especially when we go out in the daytime," said Amirudin, a father of two.

He said that the atmosphere around the Gadjah Mada University's roundabout, a popular meeting place, used to be cool in the afternoon.

"The climate along Jalan Kaliurang, which was cool previously due to its proximity to the mountain, is quite hot now, let alone the area around the university, which is closer to the coastal area," said Amirudin.

Yogyakarta Environmental Office's Waste Management Division head Peter Lawuasal said his office was conducting a study to determine the current trend in temperature rises.

The study is being conducted in 10 points in the city focusing on tests such as lead levels and ambient temperature.

"We are currently testing them in the laboratory," said Peter.

Peter added his office had previously conducted research on lead content in the blood levels of taxi drivers, bus conductors and pedicab drivers.

"Tests showed that the lead content exceeded the permitted level," said Peter.

He said the lead content in their blood indicates a high level of air pollution in the city.

The local municipality is carrying out a regreening program in an attempt to lower air pollution in the city. It has been using money from the provincial budget to procure idle land in the city for the past two years.

"We buy vacant plots of land and turn them into green areas or public parks," said Yogyakarta Mayor Herry Zudianto.

The tree replanting program is being carried out in conjunction with a campaign to plant trees along streets and in private gardens. The municipality will provide 31,000 tree seedlings by the end of the year and encourage residents to get involved in the program.